


At the End of every Beginning

by rabiddog



Series: Requests [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Gen, Kageyama Tobio Angst, Kageyama Tobio Needs a Hug, Kageyama Tobio-centric, Kageyama quits volleyball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:54:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabiddog/pseuds/rabiddog
Summary: Kageyama Kazuyo's death hits Tobio hard.Hard enough that even volleyball - which had once been the very light in his life - begins to darken and shrivel andhurt.
Relationships: Kageyama Kazuyo & Kageyama Tobio
Series: Requests [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031349
Comments: 6
Kudos: 191





	At the End of every Beginning

Fourteen years old. 

Kageyama was only fourteen years old when his grandfather had suddenly died in hospital after a small, practically insignificant fall. It was just a tumble – just a trip up after a tiny puddle of water had been dripped onto their kitchen tiles. 

Kazuyo hadn’t hit his head. He hadn’t hit anything that would be vital. He hadn’t even complained of any pain when he was getting up. The grey-haired, older man had risen up with a flourish (or as much of a flourish as a sixty-one-year-old man could give) and a twinkling smile. He’d patted Tobio’s head, shot a smile to Miwa, and continued on with his day. 

Of course, when Mr. and Mrs. Kageyama heard about the fall that Kazuyo had taken, they’d immediately wanted to take him to a hospital. Just to be safe, of course, and honestly, it was a pretty understandable request for the old man. There was no point in taking chances with these sorts of things, right? 

So, all of the Kageyama’s had squeezed into their car, buckled their seatbelts, and headed off to the local hospital. 

_“Just a precaution.”_

The doctors had told them when they’d arrived, wanting to take Kazuyo in and run a few tests. They just wanted to make sure that he didn’t have any sort of internal bleeding or some hidden injury that wasn’t so visible and more so deep inside of him. (A type of injury that wouldn’t cause immediate pain or discomfort, too.) 

Kazuyo hadn’t really been on board with the whole idea at first – he would have much preferred to stay at home where he could easily rest up - but after seeing both Tobio and Miwa’s pleading gazes, he’d reluctantly agreed. How could he deny his grandchildren when they looked so sweet, after all? 

He’d been set up in his own room after a few pieces of paperwork had been filled out - white walls, white sheets, white faces. Everything was coated in a thick, purifying layer of colourless blank – a fresh canvas ready to be spilled across with an onslaught of heavy, blossoming colours. 

Tobio hadn’t liked it too much. He’d wrinkled his nose, shot a glare to the provided vase of flowers on the windowsill, and then looked to his grandpa. 

Kazuyo seemed... fine. He seemed pretty content, to say the least, even if he was hooked up to different machines and practically covered with wires. There was a pleasant smile gracing his lips, a carefree look in his drooping eyes, a laugh permanently bubbling from his throat. 

Kageyama felt himself smiling, too. His grandfather’s smile had always been infectious, after all. 

_“I love you; you know that, Tobio?”_

His grandfather had told him just before they were about to leave. Kageyama had responded with a vigorous nod, his head moving up and down at a fast pace, and his inky hair was flying almost everywhere. Kazuyo had let out that bellowing, hearty laugh, and Tobio had felt his cheeks warm. 

_“Good. Good. Now go on home, alright? Practice some volleyball with your sister until I get back. We can play together soon, I promise, kiddo.”_

Tobio had left the hospital with a skip in his step, his arms swinging, and a bright smile on his face. 

The news of Kazuyo’s death reached them the very next day. 

.

* * *

. 

“I’m quitting the volleyball team.” 

The coach’s face was one of confusion, that quickly morphed into shock and thinly veiled horror. His lips parted, hands twitching at his sides. “Kageyama? You’re- could you repeat that for me, please?” He chuckled lightly as if desperately trying to convince himself that this was one massive joke. (Or maybe trying to persuade his mind that Kageyama had said something like ‘I want to do more practice,’ instead.) 

Tobio sighed a little. “I’m quitting the volleyball team.” He repeated. 

This time, the coach gasped out loud. So, he’d heard it clearly then. 

“Kageyama- surely, surely you don’t mean that. Is there anything that’s bothering you? Somebody on your team? Is there anything that we can do? You love volleyball, don’t you? You’re such a talented player with so much potential. Why would you want to end it here?” 

There was a slight pause as Kageyama really thought about it. Why was he quitting? Oh, right, because his grandfather had died just a few days ago, and if Kageyama didn’t have him, then he had nothing. 

“I’m quitting, coach. I’ll give in my uniform and club jacket tomorrow.” 

With that, Tobio spun on his heel and began to head out of the sports hall. 

Kageyama was pointedly ignoring the stares as he walked past his teammates (ex-teammates) and headed for the door. This was the right decision, and he knew that if he looked over – even glanced at Kindaichi and Kunimi (or anyone else for that matter), he might falter. And he couldn’t. He couldn’t do that to his grandpa. 

Kageyama Kazuyo had meant everything to little Tobio. He’d taught the boy everything he knew about volleyball, from his receives to his perfect sets. Everything had come from the older man. And now that he was gone? Dead? Never to return. Tobio couldn’t do it without him. 

It was like... it was wrong. It wouldn’t be acceptable or okay in the slightest for Kageyama to continue to play without his grandfather there to help him along, to offer tips and little tricks that he’d used back in his day as a professional player. It would be too much. 

See, Kageyama liked volleyball. He loved volleyball, even. But he loved his grandpa a lot more. 

So Tobio would quit. He’d give it up, let the sport slip, slip, slip from his fingers like falling sand, and turn his back on the entire sports world as a whole. He’d throw away his posters and trophies and start afresh. Start anew. Start again, even with the aching, gaping hole inside of his chest. 

Kageyama let out a breath, closed his eyes, and leaned back on his bed. 

A smile spread across his pink lips – expressing a sign of peace even as his phone buzzed and rang with countless floods of messages from teammates, friends, Iwaizumi, Oikawa- everyone. Asking why, why, why. 

Tobio didn’t have an answer. He just knew that he was done. Done with it all. 

Volleyball was his start and his beginning. 

And now Tobio was finished.

**Author's Note:**

> CC: [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/rabiddogs)  
> Twitter: [Wilbyz](https://twitter.com/wiIbyz)


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